Air Vanuatu

Is Air Vanuatu safe?

Air Vanuatu is a small domestic airline with an uneven record and an uncertain future. The government put it into liquidation in May 2024, and since then it has flown only inside Vanuatu, with a few old Twin Otters and a single ATR 72-600. In 2018 one of its ATRs was written offHull lossAn accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair. People may or may not be hurt.More in the glossary at Port Vila after the crew mishandled an engine emergency, and in 2008 an Islander crash killed two. We score it 67.

The score is lower than for the airlines most visitors use to reach Vanuatu. Fiji Airways gets 85. The gap comes from the accidents, an old fleet, a small national regulator and an airline that is still being rebuilt.

What happened to Air Vanuatu in 2024

In May 2024 the liquidators, EY, said the airline owed at least US$65 million and that its financial records were too poor to verify even that. Of six aircraft, only two were flight-ready, and three needed maintenance. Its leased Boeing 737 had been repossessed in Melbourne, and it had paid US$20 million towards an Airbus A220 it could not afford (RNZ). International flights to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and New Caledonia ended.

The company, Air Vanuatu (Operations) Ltd, kept flying under its NF code. EY sold it to AV3 Ltd, a shelf company owned by Vanuatu's foreign ministry, and the government has since paid for repairs and aircraft. Limited charter flights resumed in August 2024, and scheduled domestic flights followed. In March 2025 Port Vila's Daily Post reported complaints that the new owner ran an unreliable service with weak maintenance planning, and in September 2025 the government replaced most of the board. In 2026 the network covers Port Vila, Espiritu Santo, Tanna, Norsup on Malekula, Longana on Ambae and a set of smaller strips, and more routes are planned for late 2026. The sole ATR 72-600 was grounded with engine trouble from August 2025 to March 2026 and went to Cairns for an engine change in August 2026. Two 1970s-built Twin Otters bought by the government arrived in January and October 2026, the first of which was still parked months later, and in October 2026 the airline asked for offers on a second ATR (Aero South Pacific). It is the same company as before the liquidation, so its accident record carries over.

The accidents

Port Vila, July 2018. An ATR 72-500 from Tanna had an engine problem at 16,000 feet and smoke filled the cabin. The captain read an "electrical smoke" warning as the main problem and the crew ran that checklist, which switched off both generators and so the hydraulic pumps that power the brakes and nose-wheel steering. They shut down the engine and landed on one, but skipped the normal before-landing checklist, so a rudder limiter stayed locked. After touchdown they selected reverse thrust. The aircraft swung left off the runway and hit two parked Islanders. All 39 passengers and 4 crew got out unhurt, and the ATR was written offHull lossAn accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair. People may or may not be hurt.More in the glossary.

Papua New Guinea's Accident Investigation Commission (AIC) ran the investigation for Vanuatu. It found an ambiguous warning, a co-pilot with weak systems knowledge, a steep authority gradient in the cockpit and crew overload. That points at training and crew coordination at the airline, not bad luck.

Espiritu Santo, December 2008. An Islander on an extra flight from Lajmoli to Pekoa, Santo's main airport, loaded close to its maximum weight, climbed slowly, turned inland and hit a mountainside. The pilot and the front-seat passenger died; two others were badly hurt.

Walaha, April 2013. An Islander's wing hit a pole on the terminal porch while taxiing. Nobody was hurt, but the aircraft was written off.

In October 2016 a Twin Otter's elevator control cable snapped 20 to 30 seconds before landing at Walaha with 19 passengers on board. The pilot kept control and landed safely, and the whole fleet was inspected. It falls just outside our 10-year window for incidents.

The fleet

Today's Air Vanuatu flies mainly DHC-6 Twin Otters. They are a sturdy, simple type well suited to grass strips, but the -300 series it flies was last built in the 1980s, so every one of them is decades old. The one ATR 72-600 is the only modern aircraft, and when it is down, the airline has little spare capacity. While it was grounded, Air Calédonie flew an ATR with its own crews on Air Vanuatu routes to Espiritu Santo and Tanna on weekdays from October 2025 to about March 2026 (Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes). Events on those flights count on Air Calédonie, not here. That is the main reason the fleet factor scores 50.

Who checks Air Vanuatu?

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vanuatu certifies the airline. Vanuatu is not on the FAA's safety assessment list, because no Vanuatu airline flies to the US, and it is not on the EU Air Safety ListEU Air Safety ListThe European Commission's list of airlines banned or restricted from flying in EU airspace because they do not meet international safety standards.More in the glossary. Air Vanuatu still appears on IATA's member list, and IATA's IOSAIOSAThe IATA Operational Safety Audit, an international audit of an airline's safety management and operations. Every IATA member must pass it.More in the glossary registry lists it as registered, valid until 5 August 2027. The audit on record dates from 2025, after the liquidation and the loss of its jets, so it was held on the airline in its domestic form. An IOSA registration shows that the airline's safety management met IATA's standards at the audit; it does not make up for a small national authority that publishes little. Vanuatu asked PNG's AIC to run the 2018 investigation, and the published report is detailed. We score oversight 64, the same as Solomon Airlines.

Tips for flying Air Vanuatu

• Do not plan a tight connection. Cancellations for weather or a missing aircraft are common on small island networks. Leave a day between an Air Vanuatu flight and an international departure from Port Vila.
• Travel light. Twin Otters weigh passengers and bags, and the 2008 crash involved a flight loaded close to its limit. Declare your weight honestly and expect tight baggage rules.
• Watch the cyclone season. From about November to April, check forecasts before island-hopping and accept delays.

How we scored it

The accident record (80) has no fatal accident in 15 years, but the 2018 ATR loss, the 2013 Islander write-offHull lossAn accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair. People may or may not be hurt.More in the glossary and the 2008 Islander crash keep it at the floor of that band. The fleet (50) is the weakest factor, and the environment (55), incidents (62) and oversight (64) reflect a small airline on hard island routes with few published reports. Confidence is low, because the airline is still being rebuilt after the liquidation and publishes little. Compare Air Niugini at 63.